Lakers visit Phoenix for key Pacific showdown

Basketball Betting Lines

03/12/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The two top teams in the Pacific Division meet for the last time in the regular season tonight, when the second-place Phoenix Suns welcome the front-running Los Angeles Lakers to the U.S. Airways Center.

The defending NBA champion Lakers are once again atop the Western Conference and a comfortable seven games ahead of the Suns in the Pacific with just 17 games to go before the postseason.

After being blown out twice in Los Angeles earlier this season, the Suns responded with an impressive 118-103 win over the Lakers in Phoenix on December 28 and will now try and even the season series with another triumph tonight.

Most recently, the Suns, who are percentage points behind Oklahoma City for the fifth seed in the West, improved to 1-1 on a season-long seven-game homestand with a 113-104 win over Indiana last Saturday. Amare Stoudemire poured in a game-best 30 points to go with six rebounds in that one.

Grant Hill added 22 points and eight rebounds for the Suns, who have won 14 of their last 18 games overall. Jason Richardson donated 20 points and 10 rebounds, Steve Nash tallied 12 points and five assists while Jared Dudley finished with 11 points and 12 boards off the bench for Phoenix.

"It was a good win for us. We're still a little banged up obviously," Suns head coach Alvin Gentry said. "Steve (Nash) played minutes that I wish I could sit him over there, but he wanted to gut this game out and that just speaks volume about what he's all about as far as our team."

The Lakers, meanwhile, snapped a season-worst three-game skid Tuesday in Los Angeles. Kobe Bryant played the hero again, sinking the winning jumper from the right baseline with 1.9 seconds left to left the Lakers over the Toronto Raptors, 109-107.

Bryant, who missed a potential winning three-pointer at the end of regulation in a 106-105 loss in Toronto on January 24, scored 32 points, dished out six assists and had six rebounds.

"They didn't come early at me and I got the shot off," Bryant said. "That's part of my responsibility, to close teams out. Our defense tonight was garbage. We have to focus on execution."

Andrew Bynum tallied 22 points while Pau Gasol registered 17 points and nine boards for the Lakers, who were on their longest skid since January of 2008.

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American Idol Betting Season 6 Strategies  

It's that time of year folks.  Betting on American Idol Season 9.  And we have plenty of American Idol Season 6 strategies appearing below.  With the Top 24 finalists revealed, online gambling sites will be offering betting odds on each of them, including MySportsbook.com.

No other “event” has been growing as fast as wagering on American Idol. It has turned into a huge betting event with reasonably high limits and all sorts of profit-making potential for sharp bettors. Last year, MySportsbook.com experienced unprecedented traffic as a result of the American Idol betting craze.

Every week there will be odds to win American Idol, various elimination props and contestant versus contestant match-ups at the MySportsbook.com website.

Whether a fan of America’s top-rated show or watching only because of a wife or girlfriend, here are some of basic strategies to use when betting American Idol.

Odds to Win

There are a few things to consider when looking for the right win bet. First off, remember that this bet is for the long haul. Many people make the mistake of picking the performer who sang the best the previous week. This strategy leads to an underlay situation – betting a price, which is less than what it should be.

All Idol contestants struggle at some point in the competition, so you should always look for value. In last year’s competition alone, two performers who had some of the best performances early in the series were subsequently bet down to low prices - Lisa Tucker and Ace Young. After just a few weeks, Tucker had already been eliminated, while Young quickly became a huge long shot to win America’s largest talent search.

A better strategy is to look for performers who don’t necessarily get the praise from the judges, but show flashes of the talent necessary to go the distance.

Another important thing to remember when betting any contestant to win is the demographic breakdown of the voters, the viewing public and potential future CD purchasers. Unlike sporting events, American Idol is not decided on the field of play – it’s decided by the American public under the guiding influence of the shows producers.

Understand that the great state of Alabama has a mighty edge when it comes to American Idol. 

Therefore, to be successful betting on American Idol, put any personal opinions or prejudices aside and think like the majority of the voting public. Remember that the typical voter is young, female and quite often, Southern.

If a contestant cannot appeal to this demographic, no matter how much talent he or she possesses, they’ll struggle for votes. Looks, demeanor and charisma are extremely important. And it’s no coincidence that every Idol winner so far has hailed from a Southern state.

Elimination Props

Every week MySportsbook.com anticipates offering a prop on who’ll be eliminated from the show each Wednesday night. A suggestion to handicap this is to gauge an overall feel for who’s the least popular contestant left in the competition. Generally the least popular performers have recently appeared in the bottom three and will have been the target of repeated criticism from the judges.

Last year, resources included dialidol.com and votefortheworst.com. Dialidol.com measures the volume of each contestant’s voting line. While by no means a perfect science, it does give a good indication of who is generating votes and who isn’t. Meanwhile, votefortheworst.com is a site that attempts to build support for the worst competitor to keep them in the competition for ‘entertainment’ value. The site has a proven track record of keeping performers around who most feel should have been voted off a long time ago.

Contestant vs. Contestant Match-ups

The best strategy for doing well on match-ups is to assess how close either of the contestants is to being eliminated. If neither is expected to be voted off of the show in the coming weeks, the value is almost always on the underdog. If both are expecting an imminent exit in the near future, the favorite in the match-up might offer value.

Watch for American Idol betting odds on each of the contestants shortly and good luck with these American Idol betting strategies.

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